Overview
- At the Dubai ceremony, the 18-year-old won Best Forward, Best U23 Men's Player and a Maradona Award recognizing top goalscoring and forward play.
- In his remarks, Yamal said it is best not to compare yourself to others and emphasized that he wants to build his own path.
- Broadcast cameras showed Cristiano Ronaldo smiling in approval at the comments, and he later laughed at Yamal’s viral line that at home his mom is the boss.
- Barcelona teammate Raphinha was named La Liga Player of the Year and used his remote acceptance to hint at frustration with other award juries.
- The new honors cap a year in which Yamal retained the Kopa Trophy and finished runner-up to Ousmane Dembele in the 2025 Ballon d’Or.